Bayo Onanuga accuses influencer of spreading AI-generated clip, but checks show no such audio in VDM’s videos

The Presidency has threatened legal action against popular social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), over allegations that he circulated a fake audio clip of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a statement posted on Wednesday via his official X account, presidential media aide Bayo Onanuga accused VDM of sharing an AI-generated recording purportedly featuring the President’s voice. The controversial audio allegedly suggested that Nigeria’s insecurity would persist because voters did not support Tinubu in the 2023 election.

Onanuga described the development as a serious misuse of digital platforms and warned that the critic would be held accountable.

“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu,” he wrote. “This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform.”

The allegation appears to stem from a post by X user @Pious_minister, who claimed the audio was played in one of VDM’s videos.

However, an independent review by Daily Observer found no evidence of the said audio in VDM’s published content, raising questions about the accuracy of the claim and the basis for the Presidency’s threat.

The situation underscores growing concerns over misinformation, AI-generated content, and the responsibilities of both content creators and public officials in verifying claims before making public accusations.